Spike
, Ape Escape: SaruSaru Big Mission |Member = Team Spike |Voiced = Fujiko Takimoto (Games), Shizuka Ishikawa (Anime) Scott McGregor (AE1) Dan Green (AE2) Barbara Goodson (AE P&P) Richard Steven Hovitz (OTL) Richard Pearce (AE2) Marc Silk (OTL and PSASBR) Framboise Gommendy (AE1) |Likes = Saving the world, making sure his friends are safe from danger, challenging Jake in their own competitions|Dislikes = He dislikes it whenever Specter doesn't want to give up his plans on world domination. He also dislikes seeing his friends in danger and seeing Jake controlled by Specter.}} Spike, known in Japan and some European games as Kakeru ( ), is the protagonist of Ape Escape, and is generally the main protagonist of the entire Ape Escape series. He appears in many installments, even when he is not the main character. He is mainly the playable character of Ape Escape and its PSP remake, Ape Escape: On the Loose. In Ape Escape 2, when all the monkeys are first caught with Jimmy, Spike is available to be played as an extra character. Spike's best friend is Jake, as well as the Professor. He also feels close to Natalie as a sibling. In the Saru Get You ~On Air~ anime, he is shown to have a crush on Helga. Spike may very well be the strongest hero in all of the series, as he is able to resist Specter's mind control through willpower alone (at least until AE3). Due to his competitive nature, Spike often shows a rivalry with his long time friend Jake, such as when Jake tried to impress Natalie, and Spike only challenged him in order to prove he was better athletic-wise (from Saru Get You ~On Air~). Appearance Spike is a young male who started with tanned skin, but has paled since. Usually depicted with blue eyes, he has very spiked red hair with a few yellow bangs and strands going through the center. In Ape Escape, its remake, and Ape Escape 2001, he wears a red T-shirt with white bordering and a white stripe going down one side, blue shorts, red wristbands, and beige-colored tennis shoes. Spike remains the same in Ape Escape 2, although now he is seen wearing a pair of jeans and brown shoes. In Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed, he is seen wearing the same outfit but with slightly more detailing and a black long sleeved shirt underneath and a blue visor with black flames, gray and white shoes and plain white socks. This look was also used in the anime, minus the hat. In Ape Escape: Million Monkeys, Spike's outfit has completely changed. He wears a white hoodie with a zipper down the center, red pockets and inside coloring on the sleeves, light blue jeans, white and black shoes and a pair of goggles/sunglasses. His appearance has a more matured look, his bright yellow spikes having become a neutral blond color and the bangs that had the highlights have now become longer and frame his face. In Ape Escape: SaruSaru Big Mission, his appearance is similar to his Ape Escape 1 appearance, but now with the white stripe going down in the center. Personality Spike is an energetic boy filled with plenty of spunk and a bit of attitude. He is good-natured however, and very determined to win against all odds. He insists on never wishing to cause harm to anyone though, and only attacks if he must. Spike is usually seen smiling, but he can be seen frowning in a few occasions. Spike may very well be the strongest hero in all of the series, as he is able to resist Specter's mind control through willpower alone (at least until Ape Escape 3). Due to his competitive nature, Spike often shows a rivalry with his long time friend Jake, such as when Jake tried to impress Natalie, and Spike only challenged him in order to prove he was better athletic-wise (from Saru Get You ~On Air~). Biography Ape Escape/Ape Escape: On the Loose Spike was racing with Jake to see who could make it to the Professor's lab first when suddenly they had been transported back in history along with Specter and the apes. Due to this, he is chosen by the Professor to protect the past and future by capturing all the monkeys and Specter. Later in the game, he manages to save Jake from the hypnosis and eventually captures Specter and returns him to his trainer from Monkey Park. Ape Escape 2001 Spike appears one day in the Lab when the Professor gets a call from the Government about the santitation issue at Monkey Park. Specter has made all the monkeys' pants dirty and Spike has to wash them by stealing them from the monkeys, by using the Nuggetcher. Ape Escape 2 Spike appears in Ape Escape 2 in various cameo appearance in flashbacks. He is physically seen in the final cutscene, where he visits the Professor's lab after not seeing the Professor and Natalie for a while. He then welcomes Jimmy and Pipotchi after they crash their space ship into the lab. .]] After catching all 300 monkeys and defeating Specter both times Spike can be unlocked as a playable character by holding L1 and pressing "New Game" at the main menu. Spike also appears as the protagonist in the final Monkey Fable titled "Nightmare Scenario". Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed Spike, Natalie, Casi and the Professor joins the High-Tech Tournament, a virtual world. Helga, the previous champion, is on an important mission to find the disk based on her father's research, hidden in the trophy. The Pipo Monkeys and Team Monkey also join the duel to win the tournament under Specter's command to gain power. Jake promised to join the tournament with Spike, but went under Specter's control. Jake fights Spike three times in different styles, as well as Specter. At the end of the tournament, the Pipotrons steal the trophy and discover the disk. The Pipotrons give it to a super computer virus called Grid Core, who wants to conquer the world. However, once he has the disk, the villain decides that the regular three Pipotrons deserve the same fate as the others. The new villain introduces a new tournament (aka the virus-tech tournament), where the characters are fighting for their very lives while getting closer to the villain's lair. Along the way, you will go against Super Pipotrons who are 100 times powerful than the original ones. The last few bosses before the villain are Dark Jake and Specter. When you reach the new villain (in the form of Grid Core) and defeat him, the virtual world turns back to normal. Ape Escape 3 Spike, along with Jimmy and the Professor, appears in the intro of Ape Escape 3 under hypnosis by Specter's hypnotic television. He is also seen in the normal credits with Jimmy smashing a Specter statue. After beating the game once and putting in a code, an Ape resembling him named Spork will appear to be caught by Kei or Yumi. Mesal Gear Solid In the mini-game Mesal Gear Solid, the Professor mentions that Spike, along with Jimmy, Kei and Yumi, are at a summer camp, which prevented them to stop Mesal Gear. Ape Escape: Million Monkeys The game is composed of two teams with the same gameplay but different storyline. Team Spike consist of Spike, Jake, Natalie, Casi, and Helga. It begins as they gather in Tokyo and Casi alerts them of the disaster happening in the city. Specter has joined forces with an alien race who plan to take over the world once more. It's later revealed that the ''alien race is actually mutated versions of the "Pipotrons". Spike and co must destroy any remaining robots and capture the monkeys to restore the world. Once Specter has been defeated, monkeys run wild throughout the city, and the game takes a turn in a different direction. Ape Escape: SaruSaru Big Mission Spike is seen trying to convince Natalie to get a dog, with him failing most of the time. However, the dog that Spike brought has seemingly grown huge. Specter then appears on a monitor, revealing that he shrunk Spike, Natalie and the lab with the Nano Cannon. He has also kidnaped Jimmy, Aki, Kei, Yumi, and the Professor to prevent them from stopping him. Disguising the lab as a Pipo Helmet, they use it to control the minds of Monkeys in order to rescue the others. Other Appearances Saru Get You ~On Air~ See Spike (~On Air~) Spike is the main hero of the anime with minor competition with his rival/friend Jake. In Saru Get You ~On Air~, Spike is a fanboy of Helga. In one of the episodes, he was willing to wait in line all day just to see her for her autograph. As he had to leave to capture a few loose Pipo Monkeys, Helga exited the building and noticed how sad he was. She then decided to personally sign his shirt. Since then, the two have become fast friends and he often helps her with no questions asked. The only weakness he seems to possess is how simple-minded he is, especially in comparison to everyone else who hints at finding this to be an annoyance. Spike despises schoolwork and never wants to do it, but due to being such a lover of food, he can easily be swayed by a decent treat. Spike also shows genuine concern for the apes when they are in harm's way, such as crying when he thought he killed a baby ape who fell from a cliff, only to learn it was a trap. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale .]] Spike is featured as a playable character in the crossover fighting game, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Spike's appearance and gadgets are based on his from Ape Escape: Million Monkeys. He uses most of his Gotcha Gadgets from that game, like his Twin Stun Clubs and a slightly different version of the RC Car. He also uses his Monkey Radar to summon a Red Pipo Monkey or Pipotron G. In addition, he uses the famous Gotcha Net to capture his opponents for his Level 1 Attack. In his Level 2 Attack, he uses a golden Stun Club to fire a shockwave across the stage (this is likely based on his Thunder Crack special attack from Pumped & Primed and Million Monkeys since it also uses the Stun Club to project a shockwave across the stage). He blasts the entire stage with his Satellite Laser in his Level 3 Attack. Gallery ''See Spike/Gallery. Trivia *In the UK version of On the Loose, Spike and Specter share the same voice actors. The voice actor is Marc Silk, who returned to play both roles in PlayStation All-Stars. *Despite having enough will to not be influenced by Specter's mind control in Ape Escape 1, he becomes hypnotized rather easily in Ape Escape 3. His anime counterpart is also the same way. * Although not having a significant plot in Ape Escape 2, Spike is playable when the player successfully catches all the monkeys. ** Also, playing as Spike in Ape Escape 2 is non-canon. * In the American version of Ape Escape 1, both Spike and Jake are portrayed as being more like grown teenagers, despite still being classified as 10-year olds. Spike also has a slightly more mature and serious attitude. This makes the personality of his American counterpart a little more different than his Japanese counterpart, especially the anime version. The Japanese-dubbed Spike is portrayed as being more cheerful and childlike, but still has an aggressive and serious attitude when confronting Specter and Jake. * A strange thing that is also noticeable between the Japanese and International versions of Ape Escape 1, is that in both the intro and cutscenes, both Spike and Jake's eye look and animations have been slightly readjusted to look somewhat less childlike and more serious. Spike also does not wink with a happy-looking expression in the cutscenes as opposed to the Japanese version. * Spike is the only main protagonist out of any main Ape Escape game to have saved the most hostages. In Ape Escape 1, he saved the Professor, Natalie, and Jake. In Ape Escape 2, Jimmy saved Pipotchi. In Ape Escape 3, Kei and Yumi saved Dr. Tomoki from having an eternal hatred towards all humanity and completing his revenge (even though Dr. Tomoki wasn't a real hostage, he was more of a spiritual hostage to himself if at all, anything). * Despite being called Kakeru in the UK dubs of Ape Escape 2 and Ape Escape 3, his name is back to Spike in the UK dub of Ape Escape: On The Loose and European version of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. * In PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, his rival is PaRappa. This may be due to both the Ape Escape and PaRappa games had an anime series based in Japan, as well as having two of the most successful titles on the PlayStation 1, and both of which received a remake on the PlayStation Portable. * Spike is the only protagonist that appears in all three main titles. * Spike, along with Jimmy, Monkey Blue, the Professor, and Specter are the only characters who uses swear words in the series. ** Spike swears once in all versions of Ape Escape 2, while the others have sworn in the UK version of Ape Escape 2. * Spike's Japanese name, Kakeru ( ) is Japanese for chasing after something, which fits as his position as a Monkey Catcher. 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